Is 16 gauge to small

[Jeff5347]

Ok so I was just doing research and came to where everyone is saying run 12 awg. I checked mine ( honestly didn't put a lot of thought into it before other than wanting good wire) and I have 16 awg and my thoughts are it's not 99% copper but probably cca. My center channel is no more than 3 feet from the receiver, L and R no more than say 7 feet but one thing while reading I noticed I did is did not make the L and R wire the same length since my L is close to the receiver. My surrounds probably have about 20 ft of wire due to having to run the perimeter of the room. All wire is 16 awg.
1. Should I up to 12awg ( I know I need copper not cca)
2. Does front Land R equal length make a difference?
3. Am I losing any quality right now with 16 that 12 will make me say WOW
If you guys have any recommendations I'm looking for the cheapest but good wire as I just plunked down on a Denon 4400
Thanks

 

[Steve81]

1. Should I up to 12awg ( I know I need copper not cca)

Not necessary. See the wire gauge vs length chart here.

2. Does front Land R equal length make a difference?

Negative.

3. Am I losing any quality right now with 16 that 12 will make me say WOW

Nope.

 

[Jeff5347]

I measured my surrounds and they have a longer cable run than I thought. One is roughly 40 ft in wire the other is about 50. I checked the wire I have connected and it is 16 gauge RCA wire from home Depot. I assume it's copper clad. More for my piece of mind than anything I may change it out. I was looking at this from monoprice. Copper, 12gg,... Would this suffice
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023903&p_id=2789&seq=1&format=2

 

[ryanosaur]

2 cents: That's what I bought. *shrugs. supposed to work great. Its copper. It conducts. its affordable.
Think I recommended this yesterday, too.
If you want to install banana plugs... IF... *shrugsagain Check out their affinity series. Somebody tested BP conductivity and these came out on top, as well as being affordable. Also available as rt angle plugs if you have tight spaces.

 

[Drunkpenguin]

I have a used car worth of speakers and 16 gauge is working fine for me. Used to have a much heavier gauge wire before my last remodel. Went with 16 cause I had a ton of it. I noticed no difference what so ever when I switched. But if you really want to swap the wire you linked to should be fine.

 

[Jeff5347]

I have a used car worth of speakers and 16 gauge is working fine for me. Used to have a much heavier gauge wire before my last remodel. Went with 16 cause I had a ton of it. I noticed no difference what so ever when I switched. But if you really want to swap the wire you linked to should be fine.

I guess my curiousity is that mine aren't copper, well not full. On mine they state cca and from my reading it was saying cca 16 gauge is comparable to 18 gauge copper. Would that make any difference

 

[ryanosaur]

As they said above, if there is, it would be slight. My less experienced understanding is that if you are running 4-ohm speakers for example, and had long runs, you would def want to switch. Depending on how old your wire is, (not that age matters) but if you were concerned about damage to any cables, it would be a good thing to switch out.

 

[lovinthehd]

Might want to peruse this site http://roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

 

[ryanosaur]

Might want to peruse this site http://roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Lovin!:
So glad you posted this! I had read it before and loved it, but couldn't find the link again. Thanks!

 

[highfigh]

I guess my curiousity is that mine aren't copper, well not full. On mine they state cca and from my reading it was saying cca 16 gauge is comparable to 18 gauge copper. Would that make any difference

CCA is Copper Clad Aluminum and yes, it makes a difference if the cable run is longer than about 30'-40'. 16 ga copper would be better but whether it will be audibly better is up to your hearing and ability to discern the differences. The differences may be very small.